


Proposal

by CookieDoughMe, GreyHaven



Category: Haven (TV)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Fluff, M/M, Post Series AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 00:17:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11429235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe, https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyHaven/pseuds/GreyHaven
Summary: A prequel toCookieDoughMe'sWedding Rights fic





	Proposal

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Wedding Rights](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11169822) by [CookieDoughMe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CookieDoughMe/pseuds/CookieDoughMe). 



> Set in a post-series AU with a happier ending where everyone's alive because they deserved better. 
> 
> Written as an RP fic 
> 
> Enjoy the fluff :)

Duke paced the Rouge on tenterhooks, waiting for Nathan to arrive.  He had everything organised.  The route was plotted, lunch was all prepared, he just had to plate it up, there was a bottle of champagne in the fridge.  All sorted.  He just needed Nathan to get here and they could set sail.

Heavy footsteps sounded on the deck and Duke glanced at the clock.  Bang on time, he thought, as he rushed out onto the deck to greet him.

Nathan checked his watch and smiled as he walked towards the Rouge. He wasn’t exactly sure what Duke had planned for today, but he’d still been looking forward to it all week; he’d long ago realised that Duke’s plans were usually worth looking forward to.

He walked across the familiar deck, and Duke was there before he even had a chance to get inside. “Hi,” said Nathan. “You OK? You almost look surprised to see me.”

“Yeah, I'm fine, sorry, just want to get going,” Duke spoke quickly. He leaned in to kiss Nathan on the cheek as a greeting before he dashed off to start the engine and cast off the mooring ropes.

Nathan frowned at his retreating form. Something was up with him. He gave Duke a chance to deal with the ropes and get the boat underway, then he asked, “So where are we going exactly?”

“If I told you that, it would spoil the surprise,” Duke replied chirpily as he expertly navigated them out of the harbour and set a course for his favourite cove a couple of miles up the coast. He avoided Nathan's gaze and hoped he wasn't getting suspicious.

Nathan did not, as a rule, like surprises. But Duke knew him well enough that he knew he shouldn’t have much to worry about. And he knew Duke well enough to see that he had his mind set on something. “Any beer in the fridge?” he asked.

“Beer?! Nathan, what do you take me for? This is  _ supposed _ to be a romantic day out. There is champagne,” Duke replied, relieved that he wasn't going to persist with questions. They were in open water now, so he stepped away from the helm for a couple of minutes.

Nathan held his hands up in apology, “OK, I’m sorry. You clearly have a plan; I should let you get on with it. I’ll lounge over here and enjoy the view.”

Duke smiled back at him and went below decks to collect the champagne. He uncorked the bottle with a soft pop and the pale liquid fizzed and bubbled as he poured it into two glasses. Passing one to Nathan, he raised his drink in a toast. “To Haven's  _ finest _ ass,” he said with a smirk.

They clinked glasses and Nathan grinned. “Well,” he said after they’d drunk, “I do have some competition for there,” and he grabbed Duke’s ass with his free hand to show his meaning. “Although, as I recall, you were originally offering the title to Audrey.”

The memory made Duke wince. Those had not been good times and he was pleased to have put them behind him. “Couldn't have you thinking I was easy, now, could I?” he joked.

“Well,” said Nathan, “maybe things haven’t always been easy between us, but they are now. If it took the awfulness of the Troubles and both of us nearly dying a whole bunch of times for us to see what had been right under our noses the whole time, well then maybe there’s an upside to everything.” Nathan kissed him before he added, “Because right now, I know I wouldn’t change a single thing.”

“Neither would I,” Duke replied quietly and not quite truthfully. There was quite a lot he would change but not  _ this _ , not what he had with Nathan. That he wouldn't change for the world. He smiled and clinked his glass against Nathan's before swallowing the last of the champagne and jumping back behind the helm to steer them into the sandy cove.

Nathan took the opportunity to enjoy the rest of his drink along with the view; he hadn’t been out this way for a while and it was a pretty stretch of shore. It was good champagne too, and he regarded Duke thoughtfully, wondering what he had done to deserve this romantic day out.

After he'd dropped anchor, Duke busied himself in the galley, putting together an array of delicious morsels which he carried up onto the deck. Placing them on the table, he pulled the champagne bottle from the cooler and poured them each another glass. He wanted this to be perfect and his stomach churned with nerves.

Nathan tore his gaze away from the scenery and took a sip from his fresh glass of champagne. “This looks amazing,” he said, and he meant it; Duke always cooked well, but this looked like something special.

“Thank you,” Duke smiled. “Nothing but the best for you.” He planted a kiss on Nathan's cheek and sat opposite him at the table.

Working his way around the selection of food on offer Nathan became a little more impressed with every bite, “This is amazing,” he said again. “Really, what did I do to deserve all this? You don't need to spoil me so, you know. I'm not with you just because you can cook. Wait, I didn't forget an anniversary or something did I?”

Duke’s heart leapt at the praise and he knew he'd never get bored of Nathan complimenting his culinary skills. “No,” he laughed softly. “You didn't forget anything. I just wanted today to be special. Stop questioning and enjoy the food.” He held out his fork for Nathan to take a bite of smoked salmon.

Nathan grinned and felt himself relax when he hadn't even realised he was tense. This was nice, just the two of them hidden up the coast a way, nothing to do all day but relax and enjoy each other's company. And the food of course, and particularly in combination that was easy to enjoy.

He leant forward to eat the salmon from Duke’s fork. He wasn't sure he was always the best at flirting, but he tried; keeping his eyes on Duke’s as he wrapped his lips around the fork, pausing there a moment before he actually ate. There was nothing calculated about the sound of pleasure he made though; the food was delicious.

Duke grinned at the appreciative noise Nathan made as he tasted the food. He sounded just like he did in bed and Duke would do  _ anything _ to hear that purr.

“You are  _ so _ gorgeous, Nathan,” he said as he sat back and took a sip of champagne, twirling the delicate stem of the glass between his fingers.

Nathan smiled a little self-consciously in reply. He was still somehow unused to hearing that, and especially from Duke who he had fought with for so long. He ate some more of the delicious food on offer and told Duke again how wonderful it was - how did he even think of these combinations? - all the while watching Duke watching him, and watching Duke’s nimble fingers caressing the champagne glass. He was not sure if Duke was deliberately trying to be distracting, but if he was he was doing a damn good job of it.

He looked so adorable like that, with that half-smile that was somehow shy and amazed that anyone would ever tell him something good about himself. Seized by impulse, Duke leaned across the table to steal a kiss, Nathan's lips soft beneath his own. He sat back and tried to force himself to relax, knowing he was failing miserably as his fingers kept moving between fiddling with the glass and tapping on his thigh.

“Are you ready for dessert?” He asked, needing to get up and  _ do something _ .

“Sure,” said Nathan happily, watching Duke’s fingers still and thinking not just of the sure-to-be-delicious dessert, but of what Duke might be persuaded to do with those fingers afterwards.

Duke chuckled at the dreamy look in Nathan's eyes and sped off to sort out the dessert. As he worked, he wondered what Nathan had been thinking. He seemed happy, that was the most important thing. He put the finishing touch onto the rich, decadent, dessert and carried it carefully back to the table, delivering it with a flourish and a grin.

The small box felt heavy in his pocket as he sat down and waited for the right moment. He knew how much this meant to Nathan and he wanted it to be  _ perfect _ .

“If that tastes even half as good as it looks, I'm in for a treat. You're spoiling me; I could get used to this,” Nathan said, half-serious that Duke might want to be careful with the expectations he set.

“Good. You should get used to it,” Duke replied. His heart twisted at the expression of doubt which crossed Nathan's face. The plans he'd had of waiting for the perfect romantic moment (with music and a sunset of course) went out of the window. Now. It had to be now.

He slipped out of his chair and palmed the box out of his pocket, keeping it hidden as he dropped to one knee beside Nathan.

For a moment Nathan thought he'd dropped something and opened his mouth to make a joke about the effects of champagne at lunch time. Then he saw the look on Duke’s face, and stopped. He felt his own heart do a little somersault inside his chest and whatever he'd been going to say died unsaid. And all that he managed instead was a quiet little, “... Duke?”

“Nathan,” Duke smiled up at him. “I mean it. You're going to have to get used to this because I plan on spoiling you for the rest of our lives. You mean everything to me and you would make me the happiest man alive if you would agree to be my husband. Will you marry me?”

He opened the box to reveal two rings inside, identical plain platinum bands inscribed with their initials and the words 'not going anywhere’.

Several competing emotions fought for attention inside Nathan's head. Surprise made him want to say ‘Are you  _ sure _ ?’ but Duke clearly was and reason told him that was not the response anyone asking that question wanted to hear. Realisation made him want to say, ‘I knew you were up to  _ something,’ _ but that did not seem like a helpful reply either. His curiosity wondered how long this had been in the planning, and all sorts of questions bubbled around underneath, unheard and unanswered.

With so many reactions going on at once, for a moment he just stared. Then he grabbed Duke’s free hand hard, twisting their fingers together as he tried to persuade his slightly stunned brain to form an appropriate sentence in response.

“Oh Duke,” he said, as Duke squeezed his hand back, “Of course I will.”

Hearing Nathan agree, Duke relaxed, the tension of weeks of planning leaving him. The look on Nathan's face said it all. He knew how much Nathan needed to hear him say it, how much he needed that piece of paper to make it official.

He grinned up at the man who had just agreed to spend the rest of his life with him and thought that he couldn't be happier. He pulled his hand free and cupped it around Nathan's neck to draw him closer for a kiss.


End file.
